


Don't Look Back

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Inktober for Writers, 2019 [18]
Category: Perfect Strangers
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 21:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21087884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: [Season 7ish] In which Jennifer and Mary Anne’s high school reunion proves to be an awkward situation for them, Larry, and Balki.





	Don't Look Back

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by today’s Inktober prompt (“misfit”) and takes place in early S7. I found it interesting that, based on what Mary Anne lets slip in S5’s “Three’s a Crowd,” it seems that Jennifer had quite a bit of dating trouble in high school; it’s also somewhat implied in S6’s “Speak, Memory,” when Jennifer’s mother assesses that Larry would never abandon Jennifer (implying that she didn’t have that confidence in any of Jennifer’s previous boyfriends). And so, this vignette happened…

It was apparent that Balki seemed to be the one most excited about attending Jennifer and Mary Anne’s high school reunion in Iowa, even moreso than the girls. If anything, Jennifer had seem somewhat reluctant to go—something that Larry had picked up on, knowing the feeling all too well; Larry had tossed the invitation to his high school reunion a couple years ago directly into the trash, having no desire to see the likes of Bunky McDermott or Becky Jo Quinn ever again, and knowing that Balki would have begged him to go and take him with him if he’d found out about it. Of course, irony had a funny way of doing things, and Bunky McDermott had ended up finding Larry anyway in Chicago a year ago—and Larry found out the hard way that Bunky was still the mean-spirited leader of the in-crowd that he’d always been.

He’d moved past that, but he knew the memory of it would linger—and there were, clearly, some unpleasant memories lingering for Jennifer. She didn’t talk much about her high school days, but from the bits and pieces that Mary Anne had shared, it was clear that the both of them had been late bloomers, and Jennifer especially so—from apparently not being able to keep a boyfriend to even going dateless to the senior prom.

Whatever else she had been through, Larry was determined not to let it ruin the evening tonight; he would remain calm and as charming as he could and show that Jennifer had done well for herself and had married happily.

She was still visibly nervous as they approached the doors to the rented reception hall where the reunion was being held; she caught his eye, and he gave her a reassuring nod—he did, after all, know exactly where she was coming from, having been the awkward one during his teen years, as well. She did seem to take some reassurance from his, and when he offered his arm, she happily linked her arm through his and entered the hall.

Jennifer had worn her very best evening gown for the occasion to make a good impression on her former classmates, but Larry (in a pressed tuxedo) wasn’t even looking at the dress; his eyes were on her face, as he was still incredibly smitten with his newlywed bride.

Behind them, Mary Anne, also in an evening gown, entered with Balki, clad in his Myposian tuxedo. Mary Anne seemed a little nervous herself, though she seemed far more ready to put her feelings behind her and try to enjoy the evening.

Jennifer found herself wishing that she could do the same.

They dined and danced a little bit, but when it came time for mingling, there was very little that the other guests seemed to have to say to Jennifer and Mary Anne. They were definitely recognized—they received some cordial greetings, but, for the most part, they seemed extremely out of place, despite the familiar faces and settings all around them. As their discomfort increased, even Balki’s enthusiasm began to rapidly wane.

Larry drew an arm around Jennifer and was about to suggest that they duck out early when someone else called out to the group.

“Hey, Lyons! Spencer!”

A group of women were headed their way, most of them following the one in the lead; Larry was forcefully reminded of Bunky McDermott, but he didn’t say anything—he just tightened his hold around Jennifer, who had suddenly gone rigid at the sight of the other women. Mary Anne also seemed to be distressed by their arrival, as well, clutching Balki’s hand and squeezing it with such force that he looked at her in surprise.

The woman in the lead surveyed Mary Anne and Balki for a moment before turning to Larry and Jennifer.

“Lyons, it’s been a while,” she said.

Jennifer hesitated in her reply, and suddenly took Larry’s left hand in hers, holding them up to show off their wedding rings.

“It’s Appleton now,” she said.

“Really?” the lady replied with a smirk. “Well, as I recall, your problem wasn’t finding a man—it was _keeping_ him.”

Jennifer blanched and Larry indignantly drew their hands back so that he could embrace her fully again.

“Those days are in the past,” Larry insisted.

The woman surveyed Larry with a smirk as her friends giggled derisively.

“I give it six months before you realize you could’ve done better.” She ignored Larry’s furious sputtering and turned back to Jennifer. “You’ve still got nothing to offer, have you? Shallow and neurotic as ever, and only a handful of dollars to your name? Nobody wants a misfit, Lyons.”

“You are way, way out of line, Moon,” Mary Anne snapped, her voice uncharacteristically cold.

“I suppose you got yourself hitched, Spencer?” Miss Moon queried.

“…Not yet, but I’m hopeful,” she admitted, squeezing Balki’s hand again.

“Well, you’ve got a better chance than Lyons, at any rate. You, at least, have personality. But not much else… Just another misfit.”

“How you can say such terrible things to Mary Anne and Cousin Jennifer?” Balki asked, stumbling over his English in his shock. “They are kind and caring, and they don’ toss around cruel words like you are doing! That makes them the most beautiful women in the room! They shouldn’t believe your _babasticki_!”

Miss Moon arched her eyebrows as Balki spoke; Mary Anne was looking at him in admiration, but Miss Moon didn’t seem dissuaded.

“Well, I see why you were attracted to Spencer—you’re just another misfit.” She looked at Larry again. “And what about you?”

“I think you ought to leave,” Larry responded, tranquil fury evident in his voice.

Balki looked over at his cousin in concern; he knew from experience that if Larry was _quiet_ and angry, then it was a much more serious—and almost always righteous—anger than his usual default bluster.

Miss Moon seemed to sense that she was treading on thin ice and walked away with her entourage. Mary Anne sighed in relief to see her go, but Jennifer still didn’t move, her face red with embarrassment.

“Everyone… I’m sorry…” she said, after a moment, her voice breaking.

“Jen, you don’t have to be sorry about anything!” Larry exclaimed, gently touching the side of her face.

“That’s right—you were not the one saying terrible things about people!” Balki agreed.

“Balki, she’s upset that we were insulted,” Mary Anne said, gently. “That group of girls were the popular ones when Jennifer and I were in high school. They didn’t like us very much, and being shunned and insulted by them wasn’t very good for our social lives.”

“I didn’t want to come here at first,” Jennifer admitted. “But then I thought about it, and I wanted them to see that…” She trailed off.

“…See that you got the marriage and the life they thought you couldn’t have?” Larry finished.

She nodded, blinking back tears; Larry held her close as Balki and Mary Anne each put a hand on her shoulders.

“Now I understand why you wanted to go to Bunky McDermott’s party last year,” she added. “I should’ve realized this would’ve ended the same way for me…”

“Well, at least you don’t have a sunburn?” Larry offered. His heart lightened a little to see the traces of a smile cross her face for a moment. “And Jen, whatever she said about… Well, all that… _babasticki_,” he added, borrowing his cousin’s appropriate description of it. “You know it isn’t true, right?” He knew she knew it wasn’t true, but he also knew all too well how anxiety worked—how reassurance was sometimes everything.

“I know,” she said. “But even the thought of you losing interest in me because you found someone better…”

“I _couldn’t_ find anyone better!”

“…Larry, that’s so sweet of you to say, but there _are_ women better than me.”

“Well, you’re the best for each other,” Mary Anne pointed out.

“Mary Anne’s right!” Balki exclaimed. “All four of us are best for each other—the best of friends. That is how you know you will both have a long and happy marriage—so many years you have already spent as friends, getting closer and closer.”

Mary Anne gave him a hopeful look—this was as close to an allusion of an eventual marriage between Balki and herself that she’d heard him say, and she would hold onto it—for what he described about Larry and Jennifer surely applied to them, too.

Balki now drew one arm around Larry and Jennifer, and the other arm around Mary Anne.

“We may be four misfits… but we sure do fit together pretty well, huh?”

“We sure do, Buddy,” Larry replied. He looked around at his wife and their best friends. The smile had finally made its way to Jennifer’s face in full. “Well, how about we misfits duck out of here early and enjoy a night on the town—just the four of us?”

“It sounds wonderful,” Jennifer agreed.

And Balki and Mary Anne eagerly nodded.

They practically bolted out the door and into the night, not sure what was in store for them, but knowing that they would enjoy it together.


End file.
